Mobile Learning

Society has become dependent on using mobile technology for work, personal, and school functions. We, as people, have become so busy in our day to day lives, that these apps are intended to help us manage everything that we are doing, but are they really helping?

Google Drive App

Google Drive is a free application that people use to keep their files in a safe and secure place while having access to those files anywhere, on any device. The files can be anything from photos to drawings to videos to Word documents, and they can be shared to any person who the user invites into their Google Drive files and folders (google, 2016). Since Google Drive has all of these capabilities for safe storage, sharing information, and the ease of using any device to access the files; Google Drive is a portable learning and sharing application. The user can be anywhere, and as long as they have a Smart device, they are able to edit, share, and add content to whatever they are working on for work or school. Google Drive can also be a portable classroom, where the teacher is able to post assignments, share documents, and collaborate with their students as long as access is given to each student. There are endless possibilities that Google Drive has given to teachers and students to excel their learning abilities (Schrom, 2014).

Google Drive, in a classroom setting, can be considered a formal learning platform. Google Drive is being used regularly by teachers to post books and material instead of having the student carry around a physical book. For a full-time working student who has family, this application is a great tool for them since they can access their books from any device in any location. Carrying even one textbook around gets hard to do, and now since society carries a phone or tablet with them everywhere they go, Google Drive makes reading textbooks easier. Teachers can also post classroom assignments for students and allow them to work on and save their papers through Google Drive’s files and folders (Schrom, 2014). Here are some more websites that can help explain more about Google Drive and how it is being used in education: Youtube Google Drive and Education Week.

Google Drive is pretty simple to get started; first, the user will need a Google Account, then they will need to download the app through their smartphones apps store and also download the desktop app so the application can automatically sync their files from their computer. However, the only way for the files to sync is to move the files to the Google Drive desktop app. At this point in the process, they now have access to their files on any device; the user can upload files to Google Drive, organize and rename the files, and share those files (google, 2016).

Desire to Learn Binder App

Desire to Learn (D2L) Binder is an application that is an interactive document that allows the user to view, write notes, highlight, underline on any document and organize all downloaded documents however the user wants. The Binder can be accessed from any device and all notes and other learning edits transfer from device to device. Information is added to the Binder from anywhere by teachers using D2L’s main platform. Teachers are able to add lectures, assignments, textbooks, PowerPoints and more on to the platform which students can then access and download onto their Binder app (Binder, 2016). Once the student has downloaded whatever document or textbook that they need, the student is able to go anywhere, Wifi or not, to start learning with Binder. Binder doesn’t need internet capabilities to be viewed, annotated in, and organized. This app has created learning to be accessible anywhere the student wants to go!

D2L Binder is a formal learning platform with textbooks, lectures, and assignments from teachers. Since D2L has an ePortfolio, teachers are able to simple gather digital learning material and upload it to the D2L site for students. Students, on the other hand, use this app in more of an informal setting when it comes to locations and annotates that they may do. This creates a wide range of material that teachers and students are able to pick from to advance their knowledge in a subject (universityofwisconsin, 2016). Here are more websites that provide additional knowledge about D2L Binder app: Binder and Brightspace.

Here is an overview of how to get started using D2L Binder. First, the user will need to download the app on their smart device, then they will need to setup EduDentity through Desire to Learn. After the user has created an account they can then connect to Binder. They will need to ‘Fetch’ their class that they are taking and add the connection. After adding that connection, the user will need to send all the documents to their Binder, ensuring that the user sends the material one at a time for organizational reasons. Once that is done, the user is able to start viewing, editing, and sharing material (LaCrosseUW, 2016). Here is a link for more detail how to guide.

Schoology

This learning management systems (LMS) tool, Schoology, has been adopted by 12 million users, from universities to public K-12 schools, to teachers and students (Schoology, 2016). It is an online classroom that is also a social networking platform that improves the learning environment for students and teachers through communication, collaboration, and ample amount of meaningful learning material (Schoologyapp, 2016). Schoology app provides this LMS to be mobile for students to be able to access any given class, assignment, or learning material necessary for academic achievement. With the ever increasing need to multi-task, Schoology has made going to school and taking classes at a higher educational level doable for people. By having the Schoology app, students and teachers are able to monitor, add, edit, and collaborate by simply having a smart device. It has turned the award-winning LMS into an award-winning mobile LMS, which is an important value for students and teachers.

This online mobile learning app delivers learning material and has methods of learning that are designed in a formal setting. Teachers or school entities, pay to have their material on the site and use of the Schoology technology. There are links to many different Google Scholar material and links to textbook chapters for students to have on the go access instead of having to carry around or go check out more of the traditional ways of learning the material. With this application of LMS, Schoology teachers are able to upload textbooks, articles and assignments for students to access in an informal environment. However, the learning that is being done by the students is still in an informal learning method (Schoology, 2016). Here are some more articles about the Schoology app and how it is used: Schoology and Schoologyexchange.

To get started using the Schoology app, the user will first need an account with Schoology. Remember that this is a free system for students; it is the universities or other school systems who pay for this service. The teachers will then create some form of access code that the students will be able to input that code to gain access to the site. This will then open up the webpage of Schoology from any computer. Now that the user has an account, they will have to download the Schoology app on their smart device, log in, and the user is ready to start learning, collaborating and posting comments on their smart device (fmschools, n.d.).